04614_26_ch26_p100-104 5/7/07 1:26 PM Page 100

Unit 26 Pipe Bending

Objectives • Learn when pipe bending is used.

• State the methods of bending.
• Do bending calculations.

Every fitting is a possible source for a future leak.

Vibration, pressure, corrosion,
and chemical breakdown of the fitting materials are
causes of fitting failure. In some
circumstances pipefitters and plumbers wish to have
as few fittings and welds as
possible to avoid future sources of leakage. This can
be important in heating pipes
which are to be buried in concrete, boiler piping
inside boiler casings, hydraulic
piping, and others. The best solution to these
situations is often to substitute pipe
bends in place of fittings wherever possible.
A pipe bend can be visualized
as an arc of a circle (see Fig-
ure 26-1). When a pipe is bent,
the outside of the bend is
stretched and the inside is
compressed. The stretched
outside has safety considera-
tions. When the pipe wall is
stretched it becomes thinner.
The general practice, with
standard weight pipe, is to
minimize this thinning by lim- Figure
26-1. The bending circle
iting the radius of the bend to A
is the bend angle
no less than five times the pipe
size. A bending wheel is a steel
or cast iron circle that is
pressed into the pipe to make the bend. A groove is
machined into its perimeter to
a depth of one-half the pipe diameter. If the bending
wheel is measured across its
greatest width and this is divided by 2, the radius
of the bend that this particular
bending wheel will make is obtained. Bending on too
short a radius will flatten the
pipe and reduce its carrying capacity.

100
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Unit 26 Pipe Bending 101

Making the There are two kinds of bending

methods. In the first, the bending
Bend wheel is pressed into the pipe,
which is held in position by two
“bending blocks” (see Figure 26-2).
The beginning contact point
between the machine and the pipe
is the center of the arc of the fin-
ished bend. The other kind of
bending machine grasps the pipe
to the wheel at the beginning of
the bend and then rotates the
wheel, forcing the pipe to bend
with the wheel as it rotates (see
Figure 26-3). This makes all calcu-
Figure 26-2. A bending table
lations start at the beginning of
the arc of the bend. The mathe-
matics is slightly different in each
situation. This is the type process found in small
hand benders used for hydraulic, gas,
and air pressure lines, but it is also used in
heavy pipe fabrication shops where pipe
sizes 8" IPS and more are bent on a
machine weighing many tons.

Visualizing the If we make a 90° bend in the center of

a piece of pipe 24 inches long, how long will
Math the pipe tangents be? We can’t be
exactly sure, except to say that they will not be
12 inches long. We can’t be certain
because the size of the pipe is not known and,
therefore, the radius of the bending
wheel is not known. But the reason that the
length of the pipe tangents
added together is greater
than 24 inches is that the pipe
takes a short-cut across the
angle of the bend. This short-
cut results in what pipefitters
call gain. Gain is illustrated in
the following paragraph.
To make this calculation, cal-
culate the difference between
the straight line length of the
pipe from where the bend
starts and stops and the
length of the arc made in the
Figure 26-3
 pipe by the bending wheel.
In the case illustrated by
Figure 26-4, a piece of 2-inch pipe is
bent at a 90-degree angle. The pipe follows the
20-inch diameter bending wheel (5 times
2 inches times 2). The pipe length con-
sumed by the bending arc is 1⁄4 of the
perimeter of the 20-inch circle. The perimeter
of a 20-inch circle is 20π or 62.832
inches, 1⁄4 of which is 15.708 inches. So if an abrupt
90-degree angle were possible, as shown
in Figure 26-4, it would consume 20 inches
(10 plus 10) between the intersection
points with the bending wheel. The pipe, how-
ever, follows the wheel and consumes
only 15.708 inches, a difference of 20 – 15.708
or 4.292 inches.
Note: The radius of the bending wheel
can be specified to be anything larger than 5 times
the pipe size. If the radius is
not specified it will be 5 times the pipe size.
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102 Section 2 Pipe Length Calculations

A Formula for P = pipe size. D = number of degrees in the

bend.
Calculating Pipe Pipe length = the length of the pipe actually
incorporated in the bend.
Involved in a D
Bend Pipe length = P ⫻ 5 ⫻ 2 ⫻ π ⫻ ᎏᎏ
360

This calculation is helpful in determining

The number 5 represents the standard
how close together bends can be made for

a particular angle.
bending radius multiplier. This would be
changed to suit for special cases. The
number 2 is the multiplier necessary to
change the radius into the diameter of the
bending wheel. This is so that the circum-
ference of the bending wheel can be calcu-
lated using the formula C = π ⫻ D, i.e., the
circumference of a circle is equal to the
value of pi times the diameter of that
circle. If a bending radius different from 5
times the pipe diameter is not going to be
used, the formula can be shortened to

D
Pipe length = P ⫻ 31.4159 ⫻ ᎏᎏ or
360'
Pipe length = P ⫻ D ⫻ 0.0873
Figure 26-4

A Common Pipe Problem: Make a 10-inch offset in 2-inch pipe

using 20° bends.
Bending Visualize: Figure 26-5 shows the centerline of
the 2-inch pipe offset. In practical
Problem bending practice with the push-type bending
wheel, two strips of metal are joined
at one end with a clamp
screw. This creates a tool that
can be fastened at any degree
setting. We use a protractor to
set this tool at 20°. Then we
press the bending wheel into
the pipe until the desired
degree of bend is reached by
comparing the bend with our
Figure 26-5
tool as the work progresses.
 Figure 26-6 shows the piece of
pipe that is going to be used
to make the proposed offset.
If the clamp wheel is used,
the center of the wheel is fas-
tened to the points marked
“B” (for beginning). If the
push-wheel type of bending
machine is used, the center of
the wheel is pressed into the
Figure 26-6
points marked “M” (for
middle). The wheel is pressed
in at the first mark and then the pipe is
turned over and the wheel is pressed in at
the other mark from the opposite direction,
forming the offset. The distances B-B
and M-M are exactly the same. With either type
of bending machine it should be
obvious that the student must first calculate
the diagonal (travel) of the offset.
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Unit 26 Pipe Bending 103

The Process:
1. Consult Unit 25 and calculate the
diagonal for a 20°, 10-inch offset.
a. Look at the example offset
chart to find out which function to use when the
offset is known and the
diagonal is needed. In this case, it will be the cose-
cant of the bend angle.
b. Look up the constant in the
trigonometric function chart in the Appendix.
The cosecant of 20 degrees is
2.9238.
c. The example offset chart also
tells us to multiply the function value by the
offset. 2.9238 ⫻ 10 = 29.238
inches. This answer is the length of the diagonal
in our offset.
d. Convert the decimal fraction to
an English measure fraction. 29.238"
becomes 291⁄4 inches.
2. Put lines on the pipe indicating
the point at which the bending wheel makes
first contact with the pipe.
3. Bend it, using some kind of gauge
to check progress. You will have to overbend
somewhat because there will be a
certain amount of spring-back in the pipe.

Problems Calculate the length of pipe that will

be needed for the following pipe sizes and
angles using the standard minimum
bending radius.
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104 Section 2 Pipe Length Calculations

How far apart should the bends be made for the

following offsets?